By the Numbers: January–June 2025
In just the first six months of 2025, CAI and our partners have achieved remarkable impact:
- 3000+ individuals reached through trainings and 550+ engaged with in-depth technical assistance
- Supported 1040+ local organizations through capacity building and 200+ through technical assistance
- Delivered training and TA across 55 U.S. states and territories
- 11 abstracts submitted to national conferences and CAI’s work featured at major national convenings, including the Biomedical Summit 2025, National LatinX Conference, and Colorado’s Culture of Health Virtual Conference.
- Published 2 peer-reviewed articles spotlighting CAI’s work on trauma-informed care and data sharing in behavioral health settings.
Delivering Impact Across Communities
CAI’s projects continue to affect change for communities. Below are some highlights from the past year:
The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) team trained 105 New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) staff through its second Bureau of Supplemental Food Program Workshop, featuring interactive presentations and a powerful participant video. Looking ahead, CAI will launch an 8-month Learning Community on staff retention, host the 2025 Managers Workshop on trauma-informed leadership, and roll out new classroom, webinar, and online trainings to enhance nutrition services and workforce culture across WIC agencies.
CAI’s National HIV Learning Center delivered 44 trainings to 350+ participants, while updating five courses to align with CDC guidance. Over 60 additional courses are scheduled to be delivered during the 2025-2026 contract year. In parallel, the TA team is actively working on 20+ TA requests, including coaching on HIV prevention models like ARTAS, CLEAR, and SNS—giving jurisdictions the tools to lead with confidence and clarity.
The Data Integration, Systems and Quality (DISQ) team supports Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program providers and recipients in completing reports on the services they provide to people living with HIV nationwide. Last quarter, DISQ provided 350 TA encounters, nine webinars, and 21 email campaigns to the field. Additionally, DISQ updated 12 resources published to TargetHIV. DISQ resources garnered almost 20,000 views, and nearly 20% of TargetHIV’s top views are DISQ resources, indicating their high visibility and impact.
In Jackson, MS, CAI has trained 300+ residents through its “Can We Talk?” initiative, helping residents have loving, supportive conversations about smoking with families and friends. The complementary #FindYourReason campaign, launched during graduation week at Jackson State and Tougaloo College, generated 44,700+ impressions, fueling awareness and dialogue around health and healing.
In May, the Center of Health Systems Improvement for a Tobacco-Free New York team partnered with the NYSDOH Bureau of Tobacco Control and Office of Mental Health to host the New York State Behavioral Health Summit across three locations. Participants, including public health, tobacco control, and behavioral health professionals, as well as individuals with lived experience, collaborated on strategies to close tobacco-related gaps for people with behavioral health conditions. Recommendations focused on integrating treatment into care settings and expanding access to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to inform a new statewide action plan.
The National Center of Excellence for Tobacco Free Recovery has provided national technical assistance to expand access to tobacco use treatment for people with behavioral health conditions. In February, the team co-led a Leadership Academy in Saipan, bringing together 60+ cross-sector stakeholders to address Betelnut and tobacco addiction and high rates of oral cancer, earning strong community and legislative engagement. In May and June, the project marked a major milestone by closing Cohort 1 and launching Cohort 2 of its Tobacco-Free Recovery Learning Community. Cohort 1 teams from Iowa, Vermont, Oregon, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands finalized statewide action plans, while Cohort 2 teams from Alabama, West Virginia, and Ohio kicked off their work with systems mapping, strategic planning, and preparation for statewide Leadership Academies later this year.
CAI’s trauma-informed care (TIC) initiatives in New York and New Jersey continue to grow and deepen. This spring, the NYTIC Project celebrated the launch of Year 7, and convened 22 agency leaders with NYSDOH leadership to explore strategies for supporting staff through stress and expanding trauma-informed practices. New offerings like the “Managing Emotions Together for Staff” series and the Take 5 webinar series will build on this momentum. Meanwhile, NJTIC has supported agencies in preparing to implement trauma-specific services, and hosted the 2nd Annual Harm Reduction Conference in partnership with the NJ department of health, bringing together all 26 programs statewide for the first time. Upcoming work will focus on hiring and developing staff with lived and living experience, helping agencies center healing, equity, and expertise across the board. Dallas’ TIC initiative enters its second year, having hosted 11 trainings in the past six months.
The Curriculum Team has delivered innovative, practice-based learning tools including a comprehensive Case Management Manual and onboarding training for Jubilee Housing that equips new case managers with year-long client engagement strategies and a cutting-edge eLearning module for NYSDOH to help providers increase colorectal cancer screening uptake through trust-building communication.
The Leadership Training Institute (LTI), a peer-led initiative by and for New Yorkers living with HIV or Hepatitis C, using PrEP, or accessing harm reduction services, continues to strengthen community leadership and voice. Over the past six months, LTI delivered 32 days of training in leadership, wellness, peer work, motivational interviewing, and criminal justice. Peers continue to provide powerful testimonials of personal growth, impact, and the value of peer-led support. Looking ahead, LTI is launching five new trainings focused on supervision, trauma-informed care, social styles, criminal justice, and participating in Community Advisory Boards.
The Community Health Worker Training Program (CHWTP) continues to create powerful career pathways while strengthening community health capacity. This spring, 15 participants graduated from Cohort 5, with several securing apprenticeships or full-time roles at organizations including RiseBoro, OnPoint, and Bronx Health Link. As we gear up for Cohort 6 this July with 26 new trainees and a revamped orientation, CHWTP is also planning a hybrid training option to expand access for working learners.
Innovation Spotlight
CAI is harnessing Artificial Intelligence’s transformative potential to drive innovation, optimize outcomes, and expand impact in health and social services. This spring, staff participated in a dynamic three-part hands-on AI training series covering safe and effective use, real-world applications of ChatGPT, and prompt engineering techniques.
Our Research and Evaluation Team partnered with Project SUCCEED, which helps providers engage people before and after they are released from prison to deepen their understanding of addiction as a chronic condition, to leverage AI for an innovative qualitative data analysis. An AI-powered strategy was tested, refined, and implemented to systematically analyze interview transcripts, resulting in data analysis that’s 3x faster, with a 97% initial accuracy rate and a streamlined human review protocol that ensures 100% reliability.
Looking Ahead: Building Power, Together
Thank you for taking a moment to read these reflections.
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We’re grateful to be in this work with you, and we look forward to what the next chapter brings—together.
With warmth and appreciation,
The CAI team